Since October, more than 600 donors, who gave from $5 to $50,000, slowly but steadily sent their checks and dollar bills to the city to buy the three statues, on loan to the city from real-estate developer Bill Ballantine since the early 1990s. Last year, Ballantine said he needed to sell the art because of financial problems, and he offered Kirkland the chance to keep the statues if it could raise the money.